Touting is still a real problem and should be made illegal. I was shocked at how many empty seats I spotted at the O2 on Monday despite the gig being Sold Out!

I think the only way to prevent or cut down on touting is for your ticket purchase to be linked to a form of ID that you have to present on the door such as your driving license, passport etc. No ID, no entry. The ticket could have the ID number printed on it so it's matched up when you enter the venue. As most venues scan ticket bar codes these days it wouldn't take long to scan the ID that goes with it. You would only need it for your batch so if you bought tickets to go with friends they'd be covered under your ID.

If you can't make it due to illness etc then the receipt that comes with the ticket could have a form on the back to fill in such as handing the ticket over to someone else in your party and their ID details so they'd be checked upon entry.

Just an idea but it's something that needs addressing sooner rather than later. I've been very lucky over the years to see Muse so many times and always through the genuine sales. I've never had to approach a tout or go to a dodgy website. I never will either. As much as I love the band I would rather miss the gig than give money to a piece of scum tout.

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Official keeper of: Bassline in MK Ultra & Liquid State, Matt's finger pointing at the crowd ,Teignmouth 05/09/09, Matt's chicken killing skills, Dom "breaking" the mic in the making of The Resistance DVD

I bought four (4) general admission tickets to Muse show in Madrid. Unfortunately I had to do it through Viagogo website as I couldn't get them from any other source. The price wasn't that bad, paid 480 EUR for all 4 inc. all viagogo fees (100 eu!!)

Tickets are Instant Download and they were sent to me via email as PDF.

They look genuine however they are black/white, no colour.

As far as I remember all the electronic PDF tickets supposed to be in colour or I am wrong and everything is okay? I am worrying that someone made a PDF copy of the original ticket multiple times (unless its protected against that) and selling them on these sort of websites. I was also in touch with Viagogo and they said:

"We can confirm that these are the tickets received by your seller. They are valid for entry."

Can any Muser confirm if your PDF tickets are also black/white PDF or in colour? I know you can print them in black white but I would think that original PDF should be coloured or I am just worrying too much... I was usually getting tickets by post for my previous gigs so I am not familiar with electronic ones. Thanks!

Hey all, in the US there's a presale order time for having preordered the new album that's two hours earlier than the members presale time. (Both of which are earlier than the open tickets days later.)

Does anyone happen to know which presale has the best reserved seating? I have a feeling that they're not competing for the same spots -- I would hate to use my presale-album presale because it's time is first only to find out that the dedicated members get closer spots.

Hey all, in the US there's a presale order time for having preordered the new album that's two hours earlier than the members presale time. (Both of which are earlier than the open tickets days later.)

Does anyone happen to know which presale has the best reserved seating? I have a feeling that they're not competing for the same spots -- I would hate to use my presale-album presale because it's time is first only to find out that the dedicated members get closer spots.

There's no way of knowing, unfortunately. The last several presales I've done (not just for muse but other artists as well) pretty much just had everything opened up for the first presale. I think the days are long gone of muse giving priority to dedicated members.

Also, keep in mind that many seats in the sections closest to the stage (first 15 rows) will be held back for the VIP tickets. Sometimes seats in these areas will open up close to the show date when they realize they won't sell them. It's kind of risky to bank on that happening though!